Narrow multi-walled carbon nanotubes produced by chemical vapor deposition using graphene layer encapsulated catalytic metal particles

The use of graphene layer encapsulated catalytic metal particles for the growth of narrower multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been studied using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and conventional thermal CVD. Ni–C or Fe–C composite nanoclusters were fabricated using the dc arc discharge technique with metal–graphite composite electrodes carrying a current of 100–200 A in a stainless-steel chamber filled with He and CH₄ mixture gas at 27 kPa. Nano-sized grains with diameters less than 10 nm were fabricated and deposited on a Si substrate, and were used as a catalyst for MWCNT growth. Structural analyses of the composite nanoclusters and MWCNTs were carried out using transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the diameters of the MWCNTs were reduced from 50–100 nm for a conventional Ni thin film-evaporated Si substrate to a minimum of roughly 2–4 nm in the present study.